TORONTO — The rebound off his own miss inside gave Pascal Siakam a triple-double. And his finish through contact sealed the a critical Raptors late-season victory over a 76ers team they may see again next week in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Siakam’s 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists lifted the Raptors to a 119-114 victory Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.
It was an entertaining game between two teams who are now even more likely to meet in the postseason. Neither team was at full strength, however. Raptors All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet and starting wing OG Anunoby did not play, while Sixers defensive ace Matisse Thybulle was ineligible to play in Toronto because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19. Thybulle’s length and disruptive defense was missed on a night the Raptors totaled 16 second-chance points and 15 in transition.
The Sixers entered Thursday in fourth place in the tight Eastern Conference playoff standings and with the same 49-30 record as Milwaukee, though the Bucks held the tiebreaker because they won the season series, 2-1. Both teams were a half-game behind the second-place Boston Celtics (50-30 entering Thursday), who visited the Bucks Thursday night.
After a back-and-forth second half, the Raptors took the lead for good in the final minutes.
Raptors Rookie of the Year Contender Scottie gave Toronto a 97-89 lead with less than 9 minutes remaining, before Gary Trent followed with a floater to put Toronto up 10 points. Tyrese Maxey led a Sixers charge with an old-fashioned three-point play, two free throws and a pull-up jumper to get within 102-99 about midway through the period, before Siakam answered with a finish inside and Trent followed with a bucket.
Then, after Danny Green buried his sixth three-pointer to cut the Raptors’ lead to 111-107 with about two minutes to play, Siakam answered with a finger roll to force a Sixers timeout.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyrese Maxey scored 9 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Toronto’s Gary Trent also finished with 30 points, including a 5-of-8 mark from three-point range, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Three-point barrage
One game after setting the franchise record for three-pointers in a game (23), the Sixers went 19-of-36 from long range in Toronto. The Raptors were also dangerous from long range, going 15-of-33.
Five Sixers hit multiple shots from deep: Maxey went 4-of-5, while Green went 6-of-7 (including a four-point play in the third quarter), Shake Milton went 3-of-4, Georges Niang went 3-of-7 and Tobias Harris went 2-of-5.
Both teams bombed away from three-point land in the first half, going a combined 21-of-38 to create a tight margin.
The Sixers’ hot start — they made their first five attempts from deep — helped them build an early 17-2 lead. Then, three-point shooting helped fuel the Raptors’ comeback. Trent’s deep ball gave Toronto a 35-34 lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the second quarter as part of a 21-6 run. The Raptors made 6 out of their 9 attempts from long range in that period.
Rotation without Thybulle
Without Thybulle, the Sixers were forced to switch up their rotation. It provided a glimpse of what the sub patterns could look if the Sixers face the Raptors in the first round and Thybulle is unable to play in road games.
Green, who finally received his 2019 Raptors championship ring Thursday, was a productive starter with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 4 assists and 5 rebounds. Niang and Milton were still the first players off the bench, while Furkan Korkmaz got 2 early minutes as Green’s sub. Paul Reed was also the backup center instead of DeAndre Jordan, a move coach Doc Rivers hinted could be coming ahead of Tuesday’s game at Indiana.
The Sixers started the second quarter with Harden, Maxey, Green, Harris and Reed. They closed the half with Harden, Green, Harris Niang and Embiid.
Final two
The Sixers conclude the regular season with home back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons on Saturday and Sunday.
The Celtics end their season Sunday at the Memphis Grizzlies, while the Bucks play Friday at Detroit and Sunday at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
